私のたみにの笑顔 smile for the sake of me
by miyukixrinn
Summary: The night before his first day in Seigaku High, Ryoma dreamt that his cousin was married to Buchou?But Misaki and Tezuka will only meet for the first time the next day,in school!No slash!There might be slight abuse later.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1: Dream

_Where am I? _Ryoma glanced around and was startled to see his mother sitting on his left. She smiled at him before leaning down to whisper in his ear, "You look more nervous than the groom, Ryoma."

Ryoma blinked. _Oh that would explain why we are in a cathedral and the formal suit I'm wearing…wait. A wedding? Why can't I remember a thing… _ Ryoma tugged on his tie which was a little too tight for his liking. He was about to question his mother about the weird situation when someone tapped on his shoulder from behind. He turned and found himself looking into the face of someone he had not seen for two years.

"Mo…Momo sempai?"

"Oi ochibi, are you that nervous?" A certain red-head beside Momoshiro teasingly questioned.

Ryoma took a good look down the row of familiar faces: Momo sempai with that same spiky dark blue hair, those brown eyes always twinkling with mischief and that same old cocky smile; the ever cheerful Kikumaru sempai with that red hair and cheeky smile of his; Oishi sempai, fukubuchou and mother hen of Seigaku with his weird hairstyle; Fuji sempai, the tensai who's always smiling but can really be scary on court; Kawamura sempai, tall and muscular with brown hair who is actually a very timid person and is well-mannered but has a very different personality when playing tennis; Inui sempai ,the tall and bespectacled senior who is very sly and loves to get data of his opponents; Kaidoh sempai who always wears a bandana and is mostly frowning, scaring most people off with his I'm-pissed-off stare.

_What's going on?_

Fuji must have noticed the bewildered look on Ryoma's face and spoke up, "Echizen, are you ok?"

"I…" Ryoma was interrupted by Inui who spoke up with that I-know-everything tone of his, holding up his data book in his left hand while pushing up his famous rectangular black rim spectacles with his right index finger, "My data tells me that Echizen is 100% nervous."

_Yea, and my common sense tells me that Inui sempai is 100% bonkers. How can I be nervous of something I know not of? _Ryoma resisted the strong urge to snap at his sempai but settled for a glare instead.

"What kind of data is that Inui sempai? You're just making that up aren't you?"Momoshiro retorted to an annoyed Inui.

"Fshuuu…At least his data proves useful for his tennis unlike your reckless playing on the courts."

"What?! Picking a fight, mamushi?" Momoshiro countered, standing up to face Kaidoh who was seated at the other end of the row.

Ryoma managed not to roll his eyes and turned to face the front. _I give up. This is just a dumb dream that I'll wake up from soon. _He heard Oishi trying hard to stop the two from their usual bickering but to no avail.

"Momoshiro, Kaidoh! Cut it out! This is Tezuka's wedding and you guys are making a fool of yourselves in front of everyone present!" Oishi's curt order had his two kouhais quieten down and looking somewhat apologetic.

The other kouhai, meanwhile, sat frozen in his seat not knowing how to react to the new information. _Buchou's wedding_? _This is really a weird dream. I must be going nuts. _Making a quick decision on the spot to play along with his dream, Ryoma turned to face his sempais and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "Who's Buchou marrying? Do we know her?"

"Nani? What?" Ryoma became annoyed when all his sempais just stared at him in shocked silence. He sighed and turned to face the front again.

He fidgeted in his seat trying to make himself comfortable though he just wished to wake up from this weird dream of his. _Maybe I can force myself to wake up…like pinching myself real hard…itai! _Ryoma jerked in his seat at the pain he had inflicted on himself, hissing out a breath. He looked up to see his mother's questioning glance and he blushed, feeling extremely foolish. _Oh well, I guess the dream will end when it is time for me to wake up. _Ryoma decided to check out his surroundings. They were in a cathedral hall, with murals decorating the walls and colorful stained glass ceilings. The wooden rows of benches that were seated on by the wedding guests were covered in white cloth and there were white roses decorating the sides of the benches as well as the entrance door's handles. From the huge entrance doors is a pathway, with rows of seats on its both sides, covered with a red carpet leading straight to the front of the hall where there is a wooden table, also covered with a white cloth. On it was a basket full of red roses as well as a cushion approximately the size of an A4 size paper. Upon further scrutiny, Ryoma noticed the two simple rings on the cushion, sparkling under the light from the hall's lamps as well as the natural light let in by the stained glass.

Just then, Ryoma spotted Tezuka entering the hall from one of the front side doors with a man who he presumed to be the priest. He would never admit it but Ryoma really missed his Seigaku friends. The times they fought together as a team, the times they did stupid things like following a fellow teammate to spy on him and all sorts of things they went through together. It was with his Seigaku comrades that Ryoma really grew, not physically, unless you note the numerous bottles of milk he was forced to drink so that he could grow taller (not that it really mattered since he would still the shortest and he will always be ochibi). Tezuka Buchou's own discreet way of encouragement and strong leadership had also helped the team a lot and Ryoma also did owe to his ex- captain for helping him step out of his father, Echizen Nanjiroh's, shadow and making him want to become much stronger, to be Seigaku's pillar of support.

"Tezuka buchou," apparently everyone had noticed Tezuka's appearance and the hall was full of whispers.

Ryoma was too busy studying his buchou to pay attention to anything that Momo sempai was saying into his ear. Tezuka looked the same. Just only… _I must be nutters to dream of Buchou smiling. _Ryoma rubbed his eyes and peeked through his fingers to find that his Buchou was now looking at him with an expression Ryoma couldn't identify. _Concern? _

"Minna-san, please rise to welcome the bride," the priest announced as the mini orchestra which had just appeared in front was now playing the wedding march. As the entrance doors start to swing inwards, the guests all stood and faced them, clapping with enthusiasm. Ryoma followed suit, not knowing how weddings went about. It was quite magnificent, the doors swinging open to allow the flower girls to enter slowly, and letting the evening sunlight stream into the hall. Ryoma was not the kind who concerned himself with such things but he was curious as to who Tezuka Buchou was going to marry. It didn't occur to him that his Buchou was a little too young to be getting married. Or as to why his mother was a guest in the front row with him at his Buchou's wedding.

Since Ryoma wasn't very tall and he was in the front row, he couldn't see the bride walking down the aisle. He inched a little to his left so that he was slightly on the red carpet and stared at the scene before him. And stared. Stared as he watched his father lead Misaki, his cousin who he treats like an older sister, in a bride's gown. And continued staring even when Misaki glanced his way, her face fell and her steps faltered at his expression. Ryoma did not notice that everyone had stopped clapping and was looking at him. He did not catch the worried looks exchanged by the bride and groom. _What in the world is going on?!_

Ryoma shot into sitting position on his bed, shaken by his dream. He stared blankly into space for a few minutes, trying to digest what had just happened, or at least in his dream. He shook his head as if to clear his mind, tossing his dark green hair away from his face. His brownish gold eyes seem to gleam as he gathered his thoughts; the dream had reminded him of many things. Misaki, who had moved to Kyushu the year he went off to America, was back as well. She had arrived two days before Ryoma. He was surprised but was extremely glad. He would have been lonely without Misaki, since his older brother was always away. She had stayed with Ryoma's family for as long as Ryoma could remember. This was because her parents, his uncle and aunt, had died in an accident when Misaki was 2 years old. Ryoma and his parents were taken by surprise when she announced that she wanted to study high school in Kyushu, leaving them and her friends behind, going to somewhere unfamiliar alone. Her reason to the sudden plan was that the figure skating facilities and trainings were better and more advanced there. However, she was now back in Tokyo to continue her last year of high school. Yet Ryoma felt that Misaki seemed to have changed much since he last saw her. Not that change was bad but Misaki seemed to be less cheerful than usual and much quieter. When questioned by Ryoma, she had just shrugged and said that the stress there from training and school was too much to handle. This seems to answer why she was back in Tokyo and why she seemed different. However, Ryoma had his doubts that stress was the only factor that had Misaki returning, but he decided not to probe. Yet.

The dream had also reminded him that he was going to meet his Seigaku comrades after not seeing them for 2 full years. 2 years ago, after Seigaku had won the National Championships, Ryoma had flown off to the States to start playing tennis as a young professional. Tezuka Buchou went to Germany for a full year of rehabilitation for his injured left elbow. Kaidoh sempai had become the new Buchou and Momo sempai the fukubuchou as the rest of the regulars graduated from middle school. Now, Ryoma was back to fulfill a promise he had made with the rest of the regulars-to meet again in Seigaku High tennis club as regulars.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing……!!!"

The alarm bell broke Ryoma's train of thoughts. He sighed as he got out of bed to get ready for his first day as a high schooler.

^^[ Many thanks to Ren, Kahoko and Misaki. Disclaimer: All Prince of Tennis characters belong to Takeshi Konomi. This story is purely fiction. Please review!]

Translations:

Sempai:senior

Ochibi:chibi means like very small size

Fukubuchou:vice-captain

Tensai:genius

Mamushi:viper

Kouhai:junior

Nani:what

Itai:pain/ouch!

Buchou:captain

Minna-san:everyone(polite)

Kyushu: part of south Japan


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A new beginning

Ryoma was one who did not let things like dreams bother him. He wasn't the dreamy kind of person. If he wanted to achieve something, he will work hard towards that goal. Dreams and nightmares or anything in between are not reality and are not worth the time to ponder on. This was what Ryoma told himself as threw on his school blouse and started buttoning from bottom to top. He stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, pondering on why the dream made him uneasy. _I guess it must be because I will be meeting __**them**__ again. Don't be ridiculous Ryoma. Stop bothering about such stuff. _With his mind made up, Ryoma grabbed his school bag, which he was forced to pack the previous night by Misaki-chan, from the chair and strolled out of his bedroom.

Ryoma drank in the sight that greeted him this morning. Standing in front of his bedroom door, Ryoma could see his mother-with her brown hair tied back in a single plaits ponytail as usual, busy preparing Japanese style breakfast for the family in the small kitchen. The smell wafted towards Ryoma, making him feel hungry. Misaki-chan was currently kneeling down at the dining table, feeding his beloved Himalayan cat. He could hear the temple bell clanging in a weird rhythm from outside, most probably because his oyaji was reading some porn magazine and was not concentrating on doing his job well. Ryoma's lips curved. _It's good to be home._

Misaki petted Karupin and looked up to see Ryoma looking a little dazed. When he smiled to himself, Misaki grinned, knowing too well what was going inside her cousin's mind at that moment. She had the same reaction the first few mornings after she arrived back from Kyushu. "Ohayo."

Ryoma returned Misaki's smile and settled opposite her just as his mother brought out breakfast. "Ohayo gozaimasu."

As Ryoma picked up his glass of milk and started sipping, he took his time to examine Misaki. She had permed her hair and it flowed nicely to her shoulders. She had not changed the color though and it stayed dark brown. Her brownish-gold eyes, big and dreamy were now ruined by the wariness that shone in them as well as the dark rings that circled them. Ryoma frowned. _It seemed as though she had not slept for days. _

Misaki fidgeted uncomfortably under Ryoma's scrutinizing gaze and joked weakly that she felt like she was a tennis racket that he was considering whether to buy or not. Ryoma's left eyebrow arched up but he remained silent as he peered at Misaki over his glass of milk occasionally.

"Looking forward to school?" Rinko had noticed Misaki's discomfort and decided that the poor girl should be let off for now. Like Ryoma, she was determined to find out what was bothering Misaki. Sooner or later.

From the corner of his eye, Ryoma saw Misaki give a small sigh of relief as he directed his attention to his mother, who was currently filling his plate with breakfast. Ryoma gave a small shrug.

"What about your friends? Aren't you excited about meeting them after 2 years?"

At his mother's mentioning of friends, Ryoma thought of his Seigaku tennis teammates and wondered how it would be like to meet them again. Oh, he had occasionally exchanged call with them but meeting them face to face was altogether different. In fact, he was a little nervous though he wasn't sure why. And of course he would never admit that he felt that way. He gave another small shrug and started when something smacked his head. He turned to glare at the man who had just entered, dressed in a black yukata. Nanjiro ignored his son's glares and sat opposite his wife, beside Ryoma. Despite Ryoma's protests, "OYAJI!", Nanjiro fed himself with a spoonful of Ryoma's favorite chawanmushi. Ryoma shot a disgusted look at his father and his spoon before continuing with his breakfast, ignoring his mother's and Misaki's soft giggles. Nanjiro hid his smirk behind the morning newspaper, showing only his short black hair that was peeking out from above.

Ryoma cleared off his breakfast and reached for his second glass of milk. He was accustomed to drinking two glasses or bottles of milk every day and did not complain like he used to when Inui sempai first created the special diet plan for him. In fact, he had grown to like this thick white fluid.

"Ne Misaki, you don't have a boyfriend do you?" came Nanjiro's voice.

Misaki's face turned a few shades paler as she stared at the newspaper that blocked her uncle's face. Meanwhile, Ryoma was choking on his milk, coughing until his face had turned red. Nanjiro folded his newspaper and placed it beside him. He grinned at his son's reaction and smacked him on his back. "Maybe someone from the tennis club?" Ryoma, who had recovered quickly from coughing and was drinking his last mouthful of milk turned to glare at his father for smacking him hard, only to spew it out at his father's face upon the latter's 'someone from the tennis club' suggestion. An image from the dream, of Buchou in his groom suit, smiling, flashed in Ryoma's mind. Ryoma shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off that scene. _I'm going mad. _

"What's wrong with your sempais?" Rinko questioned, mistaking Ryoma's reaction.

Misaki, who had somewhat recovered from the shock piped in, "I've seen them during your matches. If I remembered correctly, they are all ikeman."

Both females were now nodding their heads and grinning at Ryoma who just shook his head and muttered under his breath. "Females."

That earned him two glares, actually three, since his father still had remains of Ryoma's milk on his face and was busy wiping it off. Shooting a triumphant smile at his father, Ryoma stood up and cleared his plates. "Misaki-chan, time to leave for school."

"Hai!"

_Yabai. I should have just agreed to Ryoma's suggestion to bring me to my class because now I'm totally lost. _ Misaki swallowed her fear and continued down the corridor, avoiding curious stares. It couldn't be helped, really, since she was an unfamiliar face even though she wasn't a first year student. She felt like an outcast, the only person who did not know the way around or had anyone to talk to. Even the first years were busy talking with their new classmates and seem to know which direction to head. Misaki continued walking straight and only glanced up occasionally.

"Ano…"

Someone tapped on her shoulder and she glanced backward, only to be startled to see five boys staring at her curiously. "Ha…Hai?"

" Are you a new transfer student?" Misaki nodded at the direction of the boy who asked her the question. He was just slightly taller than she was, with light brown hair and a smile on his face. He opened his eyes slightly and Misaki caught a glimpse of his aqua eyes. _Have I seen him before? He looks familiar. _Before Misaki could ponder about that, she saw a flash of red and felt someone swing an arm over her shoulder.

"Kawaii~ what's your name nya~?"

Misaki stiffened at the sudden contact and she turned to see a red-head grinning widely at her. His face was only inches away from hers and she couldn't help but be startled. Misaki tore herself from his touch, taking a few steps back. She saw the shock looks the boys were sending her and quickly apologized. "Go…gomennasai" Not daring to look up, she muttered "excuse me" and escaped down the corridor, to the nearest stairway.

"Eiji, you've scared her off," the egghead(lolz sorry I couldn't help it) chided his partner.

"Oishi, I'm sure he only wanted to be friendly."

"Nya~,"Kikumaru nodded at his tall friend.

Oishi sighed. He knew Kawamura was right. This was just Eiji's personality though his over-friendliness may scare some people off, as proved by the example a few seconds before.

"Interesting," the tall bespectacled boy took out a notebook from his school bag and started scribbling in it, an action that his friends were somewhat used to.

Oishi, Kikumaru and Kawamura cringed. They were somewhat used to Inui's data taking but that does not mean they were comfortable with it. After all, Inui's data taking can be done at the oddest times and weirdest things. To what extend does the said boy takes his data to, no one knows exactly. No one has ever been successful in taking even a small peek into that Inui-scared-data-notebook.

Fuji said nothing as he watched Misaki's retreating figure with startling blue eyes while tapping an index finger on his right cheek.

"What is it Fuji?"

"Hmm…? Oh nothing," Fuji flashed a smile at his friends and headed towards the stairs, "we'd better get to class."

The boys felt a shiver down their spines. That smile Fuji gave was not a normal one. It was downright creepy. It seems the boy had understood or knows something new that he could use to his advantage. He wasn't called the sadistic genius for nothing.

Misaki had her left palm over her heart as she half-walked and half-ran up the stairs She was extremely relieved that she had not screamed when the red-head boy had entered her comfort zone and half-hugged her.

_Damn it Misaki. How are you going to survive school if you cannot even be near a male except Ryoma-kun and Ojisan without being mentally prepared first? Get over it! _

So deep was she in her musings that she did not see where she was heading and bumped into someone. She was about to apologize and looked up only to catch sight of a familiar face on the third storey, a few steps away. Misaki halted abruptly and stared as her eyes met the eyes of Miyuki-her best friend since childhood. Not any more, Misaki corrected herself with a twinge of sadness. The girl's eyes widened in surprise. She smiled and moved down the steps towards Misaki. The latter unknowingly took a step back, forgetting that she was on the stairs and that action could be fatal.

Misaki's breath jerked as she felt herself lose her balance and falling backwards. _I can't seem to breathe…my heart…is it beating too fast to sense…? I can't see or hear a thing…I can't fe… _And then Misaki fell into darkness.

Translations:

Chan/kun: suffixes for names

Oyaji: informal for father

Ohayo: informal for good morning

Ohayo gozaimasu: formal for good morning

Yukata: a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually made of  
cotton.

Chawanmushi: steamed egg

Ne: hey

Ikeman: handsome males

Hai: yes

Ano: um…/excuse me…

Kawaii: cute

Gomennasai: I'm sorry (formal)

Ojisan: uncle

^^[ Many thanks to Ren, Kahoko and : All Prince of Tennis characters belong to Takeshi Konomi. This story is purely review!]


End file.
